If you are looking to join in on the smartphone craze and get yourself one of these cool devices then one of the first decisions you may be faced with is whether to purchase an iPhone or an Android device. Here are a few points you will need to consider before making your choice.

What kind of handset do you like?

If you choose the Android operating system then you have a wide choice of handsets to select from – Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Desire etc – while the only real option with the iPhone is which of the different generations of the phone to choose.

Which brand do you like best?

Android is owned by Google and is an open source code which many different operators can use. The iPhone brand is exclusively from Apple. Both are obviously huge names in the technology world so the only real difference for most people is if they have had a bad experience with one or the other.

Which apps do you want?

These are the pieces of software which you can download to your phone to give you games, utilities and all sorts of great stuff. Many are free and most of the others cost just a pound or two. There are thousands of these apps available online and the big ones can be found in either operating system. The only real difference you might find with this point is if you have a really specific need; some sort of niche app that might be hard to track down and possibly only exists on one or other. Other than that, you will find more than enough apps to keep you busy on either platform.

How hard do you plan to push it?

If you are going to be doing a few things at once on your smartphone then the multitasking capabilities are going to be very important to you. Android devices have been strong on this from the beginning, while you will need to run iPhone iOS 4 in order to get it on your Apple phone. The Android platform is generally seen as being a bit stronger in this area, although the payoff is a greater battery drain when you multi task.

How much do you want to customise your phone?

If you consider the iPhone’s fairly rigid approach to give you the “classic” look then this won’t be much of an issue. However, if you love to mess about with your gadgets and get everything just the way you like it then an Android phone will definitely give you a lot more flexibility to do this.

Is the camera important to you?

The iPhone offers a decent if unspectacular camera. Because the Android platform can be used on different handsets it comes on some which offer better cameras than the Apple phone, while others are not so good. If you want a really top camera then you will probably end up with an Android device, while if it isn’t so important to you then it isn’t going to be a major factor.

What about the cool factor?

All of these phones are great looking and sure to attract attention. If there is one major difference it is that the relative lack of iPhone launches makes any new one a major deal which attracts a lot of publicity and expectation. The sheer number of new Android handsets makes the appearance of a new one less newsworthy.

As you can see, there are no big, crucial differences between the two operating systems. Both are incredibly popular and if there are more iPhones around than Android phones that is simply because they had a head start time wise.